Lee here, reporting events as best I can remember them.
The Little Lady and I left for the hospital at the breakabreaka dawn. Check-in time was 6:30. We were there about twenty minutes early. TLL likes to be early for things. Me, I don't mind being early for things -- as long as it's not surgery. Then I'm not so into the early thing. But that's me.
TLL was given a hospital gown, fly socks with rubbery bits, a hat. She changed into these and filled out more paperwork of the I'm-really-sure-it's-my-right-hip variety. We chatted. There was some fretting about this and that. In particular there was fretting about enema efficacy. Then the man came to wheel her off to pre-op where husbands and such are not allowed.
I was given a (very, very small) piece of paper directing me to the Joint Replacement Center, and, after the kissing TLL goodbye, struck off for the waiting room. I actually opened the JRC. It was deserted at that time on a Tuesday morning, literally. The lights were off. I turned the lights on and settled in for a morning of old Time magazines and Virginia Fish and Game ("2007 Crappie Forecast"). At the end I was actually tempted by the Guideposts with Kellie Pickler on the cover ("Raised by an Angel") but elected instead to stare into space.
Meanwhile, the star of this show was given some IV drugs to make her sleepy. A nurse (or maybe doctor?) came and stage-whispered to her, "I had my hip replaced. You are going to be so happy." Another nurse described to her how the anesthetist would administer the spinal. She was directed to sit on the edge of the bed and lean forward. There was some discussion about which needle to poke into her back, and that's the last thing she remembered until . . . pop! She woke up in recovery.
She was in recovery about twice as long as expected, almost two and a half hours. Apparently this was because they had to give her more juice when, during surgery, she began saying that she could feel what they were doing.
Wowza.
Fortunately, she has no memory of this. So she waited in recovery, listening to other patients talking about kids, a subject near and dear to her heart.
When TLL was able to move her feet, she was released to the Joint Replacement Center. I was notified and got to see her in her room. She looked great and was in a great mood. I think the combination of relief, absence of pain, and, critically, the morphine pickling her spine made her euphoric. She and I had a great afternoon, just chatting. It was like the last time we had a date -- when Thing 2 was getting born.
A few of her wonderful and resourceful friends called. From what I can remember, they mostly talked about enema efficacy ("disappointing," "non-event").
We kept expecting her to throw up. But since her last surgery (ankle) they have apparently improved the management of anesthetic-induced vomiting. She wore a sea-sickness patch behind her ear, and that seemed to do the trick. (As a bonus side-effect, she could see some trails. Trippy.)
I stuck around to see her walk for the first time at a little before 4 p.m. The physical therapist came in, gave some general advice about how to get out of bed, gestured vaguely, and watched as TLL swung her legs out of bed and, using a walker, walked out of the room, a little ways into the hall, turned around, walked back, and lay down.
The new hip did pop loudly a couple of times as she got into and out of the bed. This didn't seem to raise too much alarm among the staff, but it sure wasn't pleasant to hear. We did ask for an explanation and were told, "Sometimes they do that."
Here's an interesting factoid I forgot to include above: A representative of the manufacturer of the bionic hip was in the room during the surgery. I guess they consult? Like, "Yeah, the big end goes up, the little end you pound down into the femur." Or something?
To everyone who has commented, I'll convey your good wishes. It means a lot to her. Please keep it coming!
I know this second-hand account is not what you paid your two bits to see. Just a couple more days until you-know-who returns to give you all the juicy bits. Thing 1, Thing 2, and I can't wait.
